Rhode Island senator to remain Republican

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who flirted with changing political parties in the wake of President Bush's re-election victory, says he will stay in the GOP.
"My Republican colleagues have let me know that they want me in their caucus," the Rhode Island senator said Monday. "They value the voice I bring, and they have made it very clear to me that they respect and want that voice to be heard."
Chafee had said last week he would consider switching party affiliation if Bush won because he felt the president was taking the party too far to the right. He said he got a flurry of phone calls from Republican leaders over the weekend, including Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and a key White House staff member, urging him to stick with the GOP.
His decision preserves the 55-44-1 Republican advantage that resulted from last Tuesday's elections. Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont had earlier switched from Republican to independent.